My Ex-Girlfriend Was Appointed as a Knight Commander

Chapter 115

Christine’s eyes were full of displeasure as she stared at Adeline’s pale hand, firmly placed atop Maxime’s. The way Adeline held his hand, as if it were something precious, carefully yet with clear intent, did not sit well with Christine. Adeline, however, had no way of knowing Christine’s discomfort and simply raised her head toward the source of Christine’s voice.

“Are you Arsen’s lover?”

Adeline’s voice was timid, but her question hit the mark. Christine grimaced, feeling cornered, and took a step back.

“...No.”

The implication behind Adeline’s question was clear: If you’re not his lover, why should it matter if I hold his hand or even touch his face? Christine clenched her fists, but then, as if making a decision, she spoke up.

“But Senior Arsen is—ah!”

Maxime, sensing what Christine was about to say, quickly poked her in the side. Christine’s face turned bright red, and she shot him an angry glare. Maxime’s eyes pleaded with her, silently saying, Please, don’t make this any more complicated than it already is. Christine sighed and gave up on continuing her sentence.

“Anyway! I need you to let go of his hand so I can examine you and see what condition you’re in. Just for a moment, please.”

Christine grabbed both Maxime’s and Adeline’s wrists, forcibly pulling them apart. Adeline’s fingers spread out reluctantly before folding back, and Christine’s face soured again as she watched.

“Senior, could you step aside for a moment?”

Maxime nodded and rose from the chair, stepping away. Christine took his place, sitting across from Adeline, who flinched slightly, sensing Christine’s gaze on her.

‘...She’s beautiful.’

Even with the blindfold covering her eyes, Christine could imagine the rest of her features. A delicate chin, a sharp nose, lips that formed a graceful line. If anything, the black cloth over her eyes only added an air of mystery to her beauty.

‘It feels like beautiful women keep gathering around Senior. The former commander was the same... I bet his fiancée, who I haven’t even met yet, must be gorgeous too.’

Suppressing her irritation, Christine took a deep breath and began her examination.

“You said it was your eyes, correct?”

Adeline nodded. Christine thought back to the time when she healed Maxime’s wounds as she carefully made her request.

“Could you take off your blindfold for a moment?”

Adeline reached behind her head and untied the knot. The black cloth slid silently down her face, revealing her closed eyes. Christine saw her long eyelashes resting against her pale skin before Adeline slowly opened her eyes.

“...How is it?”

Adeline asked quietly, but Christine couldn’t immediately respond. Adeline’s eyes did not see; her irises were grotesquely distorted to the point where it was impossible to tell what their original color had been. The sight made Christine’s heart tremble. Given the severity of the damage, Christine thought it was fortunate that Adeline’s memories weren’t fully intact.

“As you probably guessed, it doesn’t look good. I’ll need to examine it more closely.”

Christine kept her voice calm, hiding her internal turmoil. Maxime’s wounds were the kind one could expect from battle, but Adeline’s eyes were filled with nothing but pain. Pain for the sake of pain.

“Would you mind if I took a closer look?”

“Please.”

Christine raised her hand, sending a flow of mana toward Adeline’s eyes to assess the curse’s effects. As she had done when healing Maxime, Christine’s hand glowed with a soft, golden light.

“Hold still.”

Christine’s hand brushed against Adeline’s cheek. She furrowed her brow as she examined the damage, sighing occasionally as she worked.

The examination took longer than expected. Finally, Christine withdrew her hand and crossed her arms.

“I have one piece of good news and one piece of bad news. Which would you like to hear first?”

Adeline blinked, her expression stiff as if she felt awkward facing someone without her blindfold. She shifted uncomfortably.

“...Let’s hear the good news first.”

“The curse hasn’t fully settled into your body yet. More accurately, it was about to, but something external disrupted it. To put it simply, while I can’t remove the curse entirely, I can reduce its effects over time. It’ll require regular care from me, but... I don’t even see that as a penalty, honestly. That’s the good news.”

Adeline tilted her head, wondering what kind of bad news could follow such a positive outlook.

“And the bad news?”

“Your eyes... They might never recover. In fact, I’m almost certain they won’t.”

Adeline’s eyes widened momentarily, then returned to her usual stoic expression. Christine, on the other hand, looked sorrowful, as if wrestling with her own guilt over the situation.

“The damage is separate from the curse. Whatever Count Benning did to implant the curse in your eyes, the physical trauma is too severe. It’s like...”

Christine stopped herself before finishing the sentence. She didn’t want to describe it as though someone had burned Adeline’s eyes with fire, fearing it might trigger painful memories.

“I don’t remember much. Why I was so loyal to Count Benning, why I followed his orders so faithfully, why I lost my sight...”

“...It’s probably for the best that you don’t remember,” Christine replied with a sigh.

“Well then, let’s begin reversing the curse.”

Christine placed her hand gently on Adeline’s cheek. Luckily, it didn’t seem softer than her own.

Not that it matters if her skin is softer...

“I heard that I was only able to survive and meet with you because His Majesty granted your request. What exactly did you ask of him?”

Maxime shrugged.

“It wasn’t anything grand. I simply asked him to rescue a knight cursed by the Count’s dark magic.”

Adeline lowered her head. Whether she felt overwhelmed by such treatment or simply couldn’t understand it, her normally expressionless face showed a slight tremble in her lips.

“Why did you save me?”

The question she had always carried but never voiced due to fear of the truth finally came out. It was the heart of a knight who had resolved not to see herself as an enemy anymore.

“I don’t doubt your intentions, but no matter how I think about it, I can’t figure out why you would save me. You could’ve just left me to die in that dungeon.”

Her voice wavered with uncertainty, and Maxime let out a hearty laugh. Adeline’s mouth tightened, but Maxime didn’t provide a proper answer.

“There is a reason. A very clear one.”

He couldn’t tell her yet—that he had been trapped in a similar curse, that he had almost ended up in the same situation as her. He wanted her to know that he understood how painful and terrifying the curse was, and that was why he had to save her.

But that explanation would have to wait until the day he could stand before her not as Arsen Bern, but as Maxime Apart.

“But for now, I can’t tell you.”

“Why?”

“When the time is right, I’ll tell you first. So, don’t worry. We’ll never be enemies again.”

Adeline seemed to accept his words but showed some dissatisfaction at his final remark.

“...I wasn’t worried.”

Of course, that was a blatant lie. But Maxime decided to play along and let out a soft chuckle.

“How are your eyes? Will you be okay?”

Maxime asked, concerned about her potentially permanent blindness. Adeline nodded, as if it didn’t bother her.

“I may not see, but there are things I can understand. My daily life isn’t too difficult. So, even if I remain blind, I don’t think I’ll be too upset.”

As a blind person, she could sense things that those who could see couldn’t, and it gave her a different perspective on the world.

“There’s no need to worry about me. But...”

“But?” Maxime wondered if there was something else troubling her, looking at her with concern.

“If I never regain my sight, I won’t be able to see your face, Arsen. I think I would regret that.”

Adeline spoke in a sorrowful voice. Maxime raised his eyebrows in surprise at her unexpected words.

“My... face?”

“Yes. I want to know what you look like, what expression you wear.”

Before Maxime could respond, Adeline’s fingertips gently brushed against his chin. He looked down at her, meeting her upturned face.

“Right now, I want to understand your face—what shape it takes, how it expresses itself.”

Maxime froze for a moment before nodding his consent.

“...Alright.”

“Then...”

Adeline’s fingers began to move, tracing Maxime’s features. She carefully explored his face, committing the shape of his jawline, the scar across his nose, the dry texture of his lips, the contours of his forehead, his hair, his ears, and his gently closed eyes to memory.

For a long time, Adeline “saw” Arsen’s face with her hands. When she finally lowered her hand from his chin, she nodded, her mind now full of the image of his face.

“...You have sharp features.”

“I hear that a lot. Was my face unpleasant?”

Maxime asked playfully, but Adeline shook her head.

“Not at all. Even if it had been unpleasant, it wouldn’t have changed anything.”

Maxime gave an awkward laugh. Listening to his laughter, Adeline quietly spoke.

“So, that’s what you look like.”

Her voice trembled slightly, as if she had just fulfilled a long-held wish.

“And now, even if I can’t see, I’ll know it’s you, Arsen.”

For the first time, a faint smile appeared on Adeline’s lips. Maxime could only stare at her in wonder. Adeline, with her blindfold removed and smiling, was breathtakingly beautiful.

“I’ll always remember this moment.”